Improvement in machinery for the manufacture of match-sticks



2 sheets s eeu 1 F. De BOWENS.

. Match-Machine.

No. 89,472; I Patented Apr. 27 1869 2 Sheens-Sheet 2 F. De BOWENS.

Match-Machine.

No. 89,472. Patented Apr. 27. 1 869 N PETERS. Phoro-LWRDGRAPHER.WASHINGTON. D C

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIoE.

FRANQOIS DE BOWEN S, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF MATCH-STICKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 89,472, dated April 27,1869.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANQOIS DE BowENs, of Philadelphia, in the State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Machine for MakingMatch-Sticks; and I do hereby deolare the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of myinvention consists in cutting match-sticks and othersimilar short sticks by securing the blocks of wood from which they arecut to a large rotating wheel 5 also, in the shape of the knives forcutting the sticks or splints; and also in the mechanism for givingmotion to the knives.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine, showing part of themovements. Fig. 2 is a plan of the machine. Fig. 3 shows the mechanismfor reversing the motion of the knives. Fig. 4 is an additionalmodification of the machinery for operating the knives. Fig. 5 shows theblock of wood partially cut; Fig. 6, another way of cutting the block.Fig. 7 shows the hexagonal knife.

A is a large wheel, about seven to twelve feet in diameter by two feetsix or more wide. Itis mounted on a center shaft, B, and is turned by aband-wheel, b. Upon the face of the wheel A are secured the blocks ofwood, 0, from which the sticks are cut, which blocks are about two feetlong, eight inches thick, and five broad. This makes a match-stickdouble the length required, so it is afterward cut in two pieces.

Instead of gluing these blocks 0 to the wheel A, I prefer to glue themon, segments 0 and bolt the segments to the wheel by bolts 0'. or somesimilar clamping device. By this means one set of blocks may be preparedfor the wheel while the previous set are being cut.

Theblocksforty-two in number-are placed round the wheel as close as theycan be set, and with the grain in a line with the plane of rotation.

Fig. 7 shows the knife D full size, made hexagonal, and with the side dat the end. These knives are secured to a slide-rest, E, similar to thatused in tin'ning-lathes.

l is a hand-wheel for forcing the knife up to its work.

Only two knives are shown in Fig. 2 but four or more can be used, andthe more rapid will be the execution of the work.

The means employed to operate the knives I will now describe.

The slide-rest E is fixed to the rack H, and slides upon the Vtshapedbed G. On the main shaft B is keyed a wheel, b having a cam, b on itsface. pivot, k. One end slides in a guide, k, the other connects bythe'link k with an arm, m, on the rock-shaft n. Tothe other end of therock-shaft is keyed the arm M, which operates the reversing-pawl P. Thispawl has a catch, 10 above the ratchet R and another, p ,"below theratchet R The teeth in these two ratchets are cut in oppositedirections. Sis a Weighted arm for bringing either catch-into gear atwill. The ratchets r r are keyed on a shaft, T, having on it a pinion,t, gearing into the rack H.

The operation of the machine is in this manner: The splint-blocks 0being secured to the wheel A, the machine is started, and the cam bstrikes the arm it, giving motion to link 76, rock-arm m", and pawl 12',which movesa distance sufficient to take another tooth on the wheel 1".As soon as the arm It has passed the end of the cam b the weight w movesthe arm k to its original position, and thereby, through the mechanismpreviously described, the knives K are moved just sufficient for thenext out-that is to say, a distance of x to w, as shown in Fig. 5,making about seven cuts to the inch. The first out of the knife onlytakes outhalf a match-stick, as shown atm. The next return out takes outa whole hexagonal stick, as shown at 00 It is evident that the knife onthe return stroke, in order to cut out the wood, .20 left standing, musttravel back at half-way distances to What it did at the previous motion.This I accomplish by keying the ratchets a" r on the shaft in the properposition relative to each other. The reverse motion of the knives at theend of the stroke is made by turning over the lever S, when the pawl 1)falls into gear.

It is evident to a machinist that other mechanism could be made to movethe knives, as

k is a double arm, working'on a shown in Fig. 4, for instance. Here thesliderest bears upon the shaft y and bed G. It is moved by a screw,running the length of the bed G. When the knife arrives at the end ofthe cut the arm 3 is pressed down and the rest E released from the screwy. It is reversed by hand to its first position, and again thrown intogear with the screw. The necessary endwise motion could be given to thescrew by a wedge working against its collar.

Another mode of cutting the blocks (J is shown at Fig. 6, where thesplints are out out by oval knives, though I prefer the hexagonal stick,as being stronger and neater in appearance, being equal to a roundstick, and without any waste in the wood.

It may appear at first incredible that matchsticks can be cut from arotary cylinder; but the shortness of the stick, in comparison with thediameter of the wheel, makes the curvature of the stick scarcelyperceptible in such short pieces. This plan gives a continuous cuttingoperation until-the blocks are finished, and the speed of the work ismarvelous. From five hundred thousand to one million per hour can beoutwith four knives, according to the rapidity of rotation of the wheel.

Pencil-sticks and shoe-pegs may be cut with this same machine.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. Making match-splints and similar sticks by securin g the wood fromwhich they are cut to a rotating wheel, substantially as shown anddescribed.

2. Cutting blocks of wood into match-splints and similar sticks by thehexagonal arrangement of cuts, as shown in Fig. 5.

3. The arrangement of the knife D, the rack H, pinion t, ratchets r r,pawl 19 p operating substantially as shown and described.

4. The arrangement of the rotating wheel A and splint-blocks O with theknives D, operating substantially as herein shown and described.

FBANQOIS DE BOWENS.

Witnesses:

EDW. BROWN, JOHN WOLTGEN,

JOHN WHITE.

